The Lotus-Apple Trick
by appa-appa-away
Summary: In which Katara just can't figure out how Zuko does that trick with the apple. Minor implied Zutara.


Author's Note: This is just some random little one-shot I felt like writing and getting straight out for people to read. Just a first draft with a once-over for spelling, so I hope you like it. Set at the Western Air Temple, shortly after Zuko has joined the GAng. Contains some very minor Zutara. Enjoy.

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**The Apple-Lotus Trick**

She'd lost count of how many times she'd seen him do the apple-lotus trick, but she watched him with intent as he did it again, much to the amusement of Sokka and Aang. Toph only sighed and shook her head.

"Pick an apple out of the fruit bowl," Zuko said, this time to Sokka. Sokka picked a piece of the red, smooth skinned fruit and held it up in the light of the campfire. "It's a perfectly normal apple, isn't it?" Sokka nodded, showing Aang and Toph and even offering it to Katara for inspection. Yes, they could all agree that it was an apple like any other.

Katara frowned as Sokka passed Zuko the apple, watching every movement. She _had_ to know how he did this trick. She was _determined_ to learn his secret. There had to be something he did that gave it away and then she'd be able to show everyone that she was just as good at he was.

Zuko held the apple between his thumb and forefinger before letting it drop into the palm of his hand. His fingers wrapped around its shiny red skin, like skinny white flower petals. Katara leaned in closer as he brought his other hand up and over the apple, brushing his fingertips in a ring around the top of the piece of fruit. She only lost sight of the shiny red skin for a split second when he did this, but she made a mental note to find out if anything happened in that split second that hinted at the secret to the trick. Zuko lifted his hand high over the top of the apple, flattened out his other hand beneath it and clapped his hands together quickly. The apple disappeared. Zuko held both of his hands out, empty.

Queue the admiring gasps and 'ooh's and 'aah's from Sokka and Aang. Toph rolled her eyes again. Katara searched for some explanation as to where the apple had gone; it was vital to finding out how Zuko did this trick!

Zuko leaned towards the person who'd chosen the piece of fruit – Sokka, this time – and swiftly reached behind his head. Katara quickly tried to see behind Sokka's head, ducking to peer beneath his ponytail. She couldn't see anything, but when Zuko's hand came back around, he was holding the apple again. Sokka clapped enthusiastically. Zuko sat back and held the apple out for everyone to see, letting it rest in the palm of one hand again. With his other hand, he pinched the little wooden stem and pulled up on it. The apple came apart in two pieces: the bottom half was like a little white lotus flower knick-knack and the top half was like the mould.

Aang and Sokka clapped like a couple of small-minded and easily amused children. How come they laughed so hard and Zuko's tricks?! Katara harrumphed and crossed her arms, still completely clueless what the secret was. Toph was smirking knowingly and received a dirty look from the waterbender.

"I don't know how you do it Zuko, but it's awesome!" Sokka cheered, munching on the top half of the apple. Zuko palmed the other half off to Aang, who was nodding in agreement.

"It's so easy," Toph said. "But I guess I only say that because I see things differently to all of you." Toph leaned forward and took another apple from the bowl, mimicking Zuko's trick easily. Sokka and Aang were alight with joy. Zuko was impressed. She started munching on one half of the apple and offered Katara the other half, but was rudely rejected.

"I want to know how he does it," she said, indignantly.

Toph laughed. "Lighten up, Katara. It's just an apple-lotus." The others continued chattering without her. They didn't seem to understand how badly she needed to know his secret, so that she could show them that she was better. Zuko tried to offer her the half-apple she's rejected from Toph. Katara glared vehemently at him and swatted the offering hand away. She stood abruptly and stormed off.

She wandered aimlessly around the temple until she found a fountain. The night air was quiet and the gentle gurgling of water soothed her head. She sat on the edge, removing her shoes to dip her toes in the cool stream of liquid. A reluctant sigh escaped her. "How does he _do_ that?" she asked the water.

"Magic."

The unexpected answer startled her and she jumped up, immediately slipping into a bending stance. Zuko was standing in the courtyard behind her. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

He shrugged. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine!" she huffed, hands going to her hips. Her stance became one of defiance.

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck and stepped forward. "My cousin Lu Ten used to do that trick all the time when I was a kid. I used to get frustrated that he wouldn't tell me how he did it, but not knowing was part of the fun of watching."

"I don't think it's very fun."

He scowled. "I don't think _you're_ very fun when you watch me like I'm about to pull a knife out of the apple and throw it at Aang."

"Well maybe you are!" she yelled. "It's not fair that they trust you so easily."

Zuko hung his head for a moment, before he squared his shoulders and looked her in the eye. "How am I supposed to make _you_ trust me?"

"You can't. I know your tricks. I'll never trust you again."

He let out a long sigh and walked over to the fountain, perching himself on the edge. Katara noticed he was holding an apple in his hand and sat down further along the ledge, waiting expectantly. He tossed the apple at her with more force than necessary. She managed to catch it before it hit her. She glared at him intensely.

"Is it a normal apple?"

She looked down at it, mimicking his scowl as she twisted it around in her hands, tugging at the little wooden stem at the top to see if it would come apart. Nothing happened. She threw it back at him, aiming for his face. He caught it. She could see the temptation to glare back at her hiding in his eyes and the way he skewed his lips.

"Watch closely."

Zuko started going through the motions, holding it in the palm of his hand, skimming his fingertips in a ring around the top and clapping his hands together to make it disappear. She frowned. How did he do it?! She flinched when he reached for her, but he ignored the reaction and reached behind her head. She felt the smooth skin of his hand and that of the apple graze her cheek as he pulled his hand back and presented it to her, in his hands again.

He proffered the apple towards her and she reluctantly pinched the stem and lifted the top half from the bottom half, only to have her reluctance falter when a real lotus flower fell out, onto her lap. Katara's eyes went wide and a gentle blush came to her cheeks. She raised an eyebrow in a combination of confusion and bashfulness.

"I figured out how to do the trick myself and added to it," Zuko said, picking the white flower from her lap and holding it up to her face. "Some things are hard to explain, but once you know the reason why certain things happen, they're easy to understand."

Katara regained control of herself and shook away the dizzy feeling in her head. "Well I _don't _understand."

"And I'm not very good at explaining things. But there were reasons for my actions in Ba Sing Se that you'll probably never understand, and there is a reason for me walking out on my father to help Aang now that you might understand if you'd just hear me out like the others did."

Katara crossed her arms and leaned back from him. He lowered the hand offering the flower. "Try me."

"I thought I wanted to go home. That's why I did what I did in Ba Sing Se. It doesn't make sense that I would want to go back to the Fire Nation, now that I look back on it. I still don't understand why. But at the time, I thought I was doing the right thing. It wasn't until I was back there that I realised I'd made a big mistake. And that's why I left to come and help Aang: to make up for that mistake and try to fix it."

"It's going to take a lot more than turning an apple into a stupid lotus flower to fix what you did in Ba Sing Se," she said.

Zuko hung his head. "I know that. But you still don't understand."

"There's nothing _to_ understand."

"I understand that you're mad at me for betraying your trust. I want you to understand that I know I messed up and that I'm sorry. I'm trying to make it up to you, but you're going to have to tell me where to start, because I've run out of ideas." He said the last few words with more force than he'd meant and bit his lip afterwards, muttering another quiet apology.

She stared resentfully at him for a moment before turning away. He let out a frustrated sigh and stood up suddenly, making her flinch. She could feel him glaring at her. He made a sound of reluctance and she felt his hand near hers for a moment. Then it was gone and she turned to see him walking away. Next to her hand was the little white lotus flower that had fallen out of the apple. She picked it up curiously and twisted it between her fingers.

"Show me how you do the apple-lotus trick," she said suddenly. He stopped and slowly returned to the fountain. As he sat down beside her again, he pulled another apple from up his sleeve and threw it at her, this time gently. She examined the apple and gave it back to him. Zuko went through the motions slowly and Katara watched him, not saying a word. There was another lotus flower for her at the end and she let herself smile more openly when it fell on to her lap.

"Well, goodnight," he said, standing to leave. For a moment, Katara kept staring at the flowers in her lap. Then something clicked over in her mind and she stood up, indignant once again.

"Hey, you didn't show me!"

"Yes I did," he said, continuing to walk away.

"But I don't know _how_."

He glanced over his shoulder. "You're smart. You'll work it out. I did."

With that he disappeared, leaving Katara seething by the fountain with two lotus-ed apples, two lotus flowers, and the remains of a blush tinting her cheeks and a faint smile on her lips to betray her anger.

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Author's Note: I hope you liked it, and please be kind and leave a review, even just a small one, if you read it. Thank you :)


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